In modern wireless communications systems, including without limitation, 3G, 4G and 5G systems, when it is desired to send or receive data to or from a user equipment (UE) 1252 (FIG. 12), which may be an electronic device 52 (FIG. 1), a PDU session is created or registered by a core network (CN) 114 (FIG. 4) to which the UE 1252 will be bound. In creating the PDU session, a control plane (CP) 108 function (CPF), such as a session management function (SMF) 92 (FIG. 2) in a 5G CN 114, sends a user plane (UP) configuration to a radio access node ((R)AN) node 84 (FIG. 2) and to a UP function (UPF) 86 (FIG. 2) associated with the UE 1252. The CN 114 may also assign one or more internet protocol (IP) addresses and/or IP prefixes for use by the UE 1252 within the PDU session.
The CN 114 performs additional procedures in order to maintain the UP connections as the UE 1252 moves about the geographical space supported by the CN 114. As a result, there may be a considerable signalling overhead between the UE 1252 and the CN 114 associated with the registration of the PDU session and the binding of the UE 1252 thereto.
For many types of UE 1252, the signalling overhead is acceptable given the amount of communication traffic exchanged along the wireless communications network between the UE 1252 and the UPF(s) 86.
However, increasingly, UEs 1252 are being used as Internet of Things (IoT) devices. The IoT is a term applied to a loose network of physical devices, including without limitation, vehicles, home appliances and other items, that are embedded with electronics, software, sensors, actuators and network connectivity to enable such objects to connect and exchange data within the existing internet infrastructure. IoT devices are generally characterized by infrequent and simple communications. Early IoT devices were relatively immobile, and connected through wireline and WiFi networks. Increasingly, IoT devices are becoming mobile and access wireless communications networks. Such IoT devices may be known as cellular IoT (CIoT) devices.
In addition to being characterized by infrequent and simple communications, it is expected that the number of CIoT devices will explode. Moreover, it is expected that by their nature, CIoT devices will have very limited power resources.
Thus, as CIoT devices proliferate, the conventional view that a separate PDU session is created for and bound to a single UE 1252 may no longer be appropriate due to the number of UEs 1252 acting as CIoT devices and the infrequent communications involving a given device. Rather, the cost of managing CIoT devices in such a fashion may exceed the cost of data transmission involving such CIoT devices.
A number of approaches have been proposed to reduce the signalling overhead associated with the session management of UEs 1252 acting as CIoT devices. One such approach is disclosed in commonly titled patent applications “Hop-on device traffic delivery”: Ser. Nos. 15/440,749, 15/440,779, and 15/440,950 by Zhang, Hang. In the Zhang approach, a pre-configured UP connection is pre-established among UP network functions (NFs) so that, when a UE intends to send an uplink (UL) packet to a UPF 86, the UP is already configured. The concept is not dissimilar to the “hop-on” tourist bus ride service, in which the bus follows a pre-determined route and users purchase a pass for a period of time that permits unlimited use of the bus service by “hopping on” to the bus at any location along the route and “hopping off” the bus at any location at any time within the period for which a pass has been purchased.
While the Zhang approach is described in general, the mechanism by which session management may be implemented is not discussed.
Accordingly, there may be a need for a mechanism to register a, and bind a UE 1252 to an existing, shared PDU session that is not subject to one or more limitations of the prior art.
This background is intended to provide information that may be of possible relevance to the present invention. No admission is necessarily intended, nor should be construed, that any of the preceding information constitutes prior art against the present invention.